Checking In
by genevieveyoung
Summary: Modern Muggle AU. Lily working as the check-in girl at a party for a big corporation.


**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. All credit goes to the wonderful JKR**

* * *

She shivers as the door swings closed, a whoosh of cool October air chilling her forearms. She is nearly certain it is colder inside the building than outside.

Lily sighs shifting on her heels. The balls of her feet are killing her, as she's been standing in her heels - a good idea before she left - for the better part of two hours. She keeps having to remind herself why she is here. _You need the cash. Student loans don't pay themselves off._

The door opens again, another gust sweeping over her. She shivers, but plasters on her fake smile as a man in a blue suit and brown loafers walks up to her, his fingers flying furiously over the screen of his smartphone. "Good evening, sir," she says pleasantly. "Are you with the Po-"

"Zimmerman. Z-I-M-M-E-R-M-A-N. Arnold. I should be on there," the man says dismissively, his eyes never leaving his phone. He couldn't have been more than five years older than her.

Lily rolls her eyes internally as she types the letters into the iPad in her hand. "You're all set sit," she says. "You may proceed to the seventeenth floor." Without so much as a word of thanks, the man turns and walks away, off to drop his stuff off at the coat check. _Arsehole number 79 of 1045. Only 966 left to go._

Lily glances over to where Remus is standing by coat check. He is currently putting a tag on 79's duster. He glances up as he felt her gaze on him. She rubs at her arms and frowns at him, mouthing, "I'm freezing." He gives her a sympathetic smile, and gestures to the curtained off area where the coats are being kept, his way of asking if she wants her coat. She shakes her head. She has a feeling Anita Abbott, the woman in charge, would not approve. The staff are to be in all black, and her navy coat would just not do.

She shifts on her feet again, sighing heavily. What she wouldn't give to sit down for five minutes. She is in the middle of imagining the sweet relief, when the doors open, and a large group of people march in. She spends the next few minutes checking people's names on her iPad. It seems like an endless storm of business formal dressed people, some polite, but most dismissive and rude. She nearly cheers in relief when the rush dies down and Alice walks out from the elevator bank.

"How's it going?" Alice asks, running her fingers over her pixie cut. She has recently cut her hair, and Lily notices the girl often runs her fingers over the hair, as if searching for the rest of it.

"I am fer-reezing!" Lily says, hopping from foot to foot. "And my feet are killing me." She points to her toes, pouting.

Alice fake pouts back. "I told you not to wear those heels. You always complain when you wear them."

Lily frowns down at the pointy toed pink pumps she's worn. "I thought we'd be sitting down more. We did last time." She sighs again, twirling a piece of hair that has come loose from her bun around her finger. "How's it going upstairs?"

Alice is a server, carrying hors d'oeuvres around for the guests to pick at. "They're all so ungrateful," she says, rubbing her arms. "And the amount of creepy men who've hit on me has reached an all time high."

"Ugh, tell me about it. Seems like Remus is the only one with a decent job. Plus he gets tips." Both girls turn to glare at the brown haired boy, who is looking down at his phone. He glances up and smirks when he notices their dirty looks.

"I gotta go," Alice says, glancing at her watch. "I told Anita I was going to the bathroom, and I know she's timing me, but I needed to take a break and get some cool air. It's stifling up there." Alice fiddles with her tie a little, loosening the fabric.

"I sincerely envy you," Lily groans. "Look at my arms!" She holds out her pale arms, showing off her goosebumps.

Alice giggles, and waves goodbye, heading back to the elevator bank. Lily sighs, turning her attention back to the doors. Her knees are starting to ache. _God, I'm an old lady._ She starts doing some pliés, ignoring Remus as he mocks her. It feels good on her knees. She has just shifted to fifth position, in the middle of a grande plié, when the door opens yet again. She hurries to straighten out, losing her balance as one of her ankles gives out on her. A warm, callused hand reaches out, wrapping around her elbow, and keeping her upright. "Thank you," she says, looking up at her rescuer and doing a double take.

She meets a pair of hazel eyes, gleaming amusedly behind square rimmed glasses. He is tall - much taller than Lily, who reaches only about his shoulder - with messy black hair, and smirking full lips. Lily feels her face flush bright red, and is keenly aware of the fact that he is still gripping her arm. "Your welcome," he replies, thinly veiled laughter in his deep voice. "What are you doing?"

"Pliés," she mumbles.

"Pliés? What's that?"

"Ballet."

He laughs fully now, a pleasant sound. "And why are you doing ballet?"

Lily bites her lip, replying shyly, "My knees were achy."

He tilts his head as he contemplates her. "Hmmmm…" is all he says.

She flushes further, but rolls her shoulders back and stands up straighter, plastering on her fake smile. "You're here for the 1145 Potter-Durst event?" she asks.

He lets go of her arm, placing his hands in his pockets, and somehow looks even more amused. "Yes ma'am," he says.

She waits for him to offer her his name, but when he doesn't she asks, "What's your last name, please?"

"Watson. John Watson." This gives her pause. _John Watson like Sherlock Holmes's partner?_ She gives him a skeptical look, but he nods seriously. "I know. You're probably thinking like Dr. John Watson, but it's my name. My father is a big fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle."

Lily nods, accepting the explanation, and types the name into her iPad. The screen comes up blank. "I'm sorry, sir, but your name isn't coming up. Do you happen to have your invitation on you?" she says, glancing up.

He furrows his brow, frowning. "I'm sorry, but I don't. Are you sure I'm not on there?" Lily types the name in again, and shakes her head when the search comes up blank. "Hmmm, well that's a problem. And there's no way I can get in if I'm not on the list?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but if you don't have an invitation or you're not on the list, I can't let you go up," Lily says. She hates it when this happens. Sometimes, the intruders threw fits and had to be carried away by security. She hopes that won't happen to the boy in front of her.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. Lily finds herself wondering if it's as soft as it looks. Suddenly, he snaps his fingers, like he's had a brilliant idea, and turns back to Lily. "You could sneak me in!" he exclaims, his smirk back again.

Lily fidgets with her free hand. "No. I'm sorry, but I can't do that sir."

"Oh, come on," he replies, leaning in close. "No one would know. I can see on your iPad that you're expecting over a thousand people. What's one body more?"

Lily shakes her head firmly. "I'm really sorry, but no. I cannot help you, and if you're going to continue to harass me, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Whoa! From friendly to hostile in under five seconds," he says, holding his hands up in surrender. "There's no need to be rude."

Lily presses her lips together, starting to get annoyed. "I'm not being rude," Lily says, her voice starting to take on an edge. "I'm simply following policy. Your name is not on the list and you do not have an invitation. For all I know, you could be some mass murderer going up to shoot everyone, and it would be my fault because I let you in. Now please leave."

The boy just starts laughing harder. "Mass murderer? Oh that's genius! How did you guess?"

Lily grits her teeth. "I need you to leave. Now."

"But then I won't be able to get my revenge on those rich bastards upstairs! Help a bloke accomplish his goals!"

Lily is certain her annoyance is showing now, as the boy's smirk continues to grow with each passing second. She is about to ask Remus to go get security, when Anita appears at her side. "Lily, dear," Anita says in the sickly sweet voice she uses when she is particularly angry. "Is something the matter?"

Lily feels relief wash over her. _Good. Anita will make him leave._ "This young man here, his name is not on the list, nor does he have an invitation. I've been politely asking him to leave, but he has been-"

Lily stops as Anita's face grows a frightening shade of red, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Lily, this is James Potter. His father is the CEO of Potter-Durst Corporations. He doesn't need an invitation. Let him in. Now." Anita's voice cuts through Lily like a dagger.

Lily feels all the color drain from her face. _Fuck._ Anita had given all the staff a list with the names and headshots of all the bigwigs coming to the party, with strict instructions to let them pass. Lily had glanced briefly at the pictures, but had been called off to help haul boxes before she got a real chance to look the packet through. She stares resolutely at the ground, stepping aside quickly as she feels her eyes start to water. _Don't you dare cry!_ She bites down hard on the inside of her cheek, trying to curb her tears. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Potter," she vaguely hears Anita saying as she leads James Potter to the elevator bank. "Our staff is usually very professional. She's new and still has much to learn." Whatever James is going to reply, Lily doesn't get a chance to hear, as the elevator doors close.

She buries her face in her hands, taking a deep breath to calm herself. Anita is going to fire her, then Lily won't get paid, and it will have meant two hours of freezing to death and killing her feet for no good reason. _Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. Oh fuck! Fuck fuck fuck!_ She glances up, looking over to where Remus is standing. He is staring at her wide eyed, chewing his lip the way he does when he is nervous.

Another wave of people flood the doors for Lily to check in. They distract her briefly from her concerns, but the instant they all disappear upstairs, her hands start to shake furiously. She is so humiliated. _Stupid pompous rich boy arsehole! Thinks it's funny to play jokes on the staff. Just because he's never had to work a day in his life, he thinks that means he can do whatever the fuck he likes. And I felt bad for him! Well screw him and his stupid father and this stupid party!_

Lily is afraid to move from her spot. She thinks she'd even be willing to stand there for the rest of the night, even if it meant she turned into a human popsicle. Anita shows up before that can happen. She grabs Lily's upper arm and yanks her behind the coat check curtain. _This won't do much to block out sound._ She spends a good ten minutes simultaneously insulting and reaming Lily out. She only stops when she gets a ring on her walkie that the ice sculpture is starting to melt. With one last furious glare, Anita sweeps out from behind the curtains, hissing, "Screw up again, and you're done. Go get some water and be back in five minutes."

Lily slumps when the woman finally walks away. She feels absolutely drained, and is thoroughly discouraged to go back into the freezing lobby for another two hours. The curtain shifts and Remus walks back to where Lily stands. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her in for a warm hug. He rubs his hands comfortingly up and down her back, until Lily has composed herself enough to pull away. "Just ignore James. He can be an arse sometimes," Remus says, his brown eyes reassuring.

"You know him?" Lily asks, shaking out her hands, as though to shake off her nerves.

"Yeah, I've seen him at a few other events like this. He's a decent enough bloke, just has a tendency to tease the staff. He usually doesn't let it go on for as long as he did with you, though," Remus says, frowning as he contemplates Lily.

"Lucky me," she replies sarcastically.

Remus only shrugs. "He's only a year or two older than us. I've often thought he and Sirius would get along wonderfully." Lily and Remus both shudder as they imagine Remus's roommate becoming friends with James Potter. "It'd be endless amounts of trouble."

"Poor Remus," Lily says, giving him a small smile. She rubs her hands over her face again, careful not to mess up her makeup. She straightens out her black peplum top, and brushes her hands over her black jeggings. "I should probably get back out there. No need to give Anita another reason to scream at me." She rolls her shoulders back, and walks back into the lobby.

It is another forty five minutes before Anita comes back down. "You can go get something to eat. One plate each. Stay out of the guests' ways. You get ten minutes."

Remus and Lily exchange a look and hurry away from their posts. They take one of the elevators up to the seventeenth floor, and step out into the party. The lights are dim and a deejay is playing pop music from a black booth in the corner. Tables lined with food wrap around the perimeter. There are people everywhere, the music drowned out by the sounds of hundreds of voices. "Let's go find Alice!" Lily calls over the music. She grabs Remus's hand so she won't lose him, and they plunge into the crowd.

She leads them over to one of the tables, where they grab plates and start loading them with food. Lily keeps an eye out for Alice, eyes scanning the room. While she waits for Remus to steal a mini hamburger from a passing waiter, Lily turns towards the dance floor, eyes continuing to sweep. As she looks from left to right, she becomes aware of someone watching her and turns her head in that direction, instantly meeting the gaze of James Potter. He is standing next to a man with salt-and-pepper hair in a business suit, who Lily guesses must be his father. They are talking to two other older men, the three grown men throwing their heads back and laughing raucously, gesturing wildly with their hands.

James continues to stare at her, his head cocked to the side. He moves, taking a step in her direction and Lily instantly panics. She grasps Remus's arm, her grip vice-like, and yanks him away as he reaches for a mini burger. "What? Lily!" Remus cries, his overfilled plate balancing precariously in his hand.

Lily doesn't respond, just continues to pull him towards a dark corner in the room, where they are safely hidden by both the deejay booth and a group of businessmen and women. She flushes furiously as Remus gives her a look. "What the hell was that?" he asks.

Lily glances down at her plate. Some of her food has fallen off in her mad dash away, but she feels too sick to eat now. "IsawJamesPotter," she mumbles, nudging at her roll.

Remus sighs, but doesn't question her further, instead digging into his own plate. Lily picks apart her dinner roll as she watches Remus eat, occasionally glancing around to see if James Potter is anywhere near. She has just started to relax when the group of businesspeople breaks apart. She jumps to her feet, wrapping her hands around Remus's arm again. "Finished eating? Yes? Good. Ten minutes up. Time to go!" Lily proclaims, yanking Remus away from his half finished meal.

"Lily!" he whines, swiping for his plate as she pulls him back towards the elevator bank. She keeps her head ducked, muttering 'excuse me's' as she weaves her way through the crowd. She lets go of the breath she's been holding when they finally reached the elevators. "You're insane," Remus says, sounding irritated. He has managed to hold on to his plate, and is continuing to pick at the food on it.

"Come on! Come on, come on, come onnnnnn," Lily mutters, stabbing the call button repeatedly.

She yelps when she feels a hand on her shoulder, spinning around. She lets out a relieved breath when she notices it is just Alice. "Alice," she breathes. "God, you scared me."

"What has you so on edge?" Alice asks, looking amused as Lily continues to pound the button.

"James Potter," Remus replies dryly as he finishes the last of his food.

Alice gasps, her face lighting up with glee. "So you've seen him then? Good! Isn't he gorgeous?"

Lily shakes her head frantically, eyes wide. Alice furrows her brows. "Lily had a run in with him earlier," Remus replies for the redhead who is glaring at the elevator doors. The car is stopped at floor six and she growls. "James pretended to be someone else and got Lily in deep shit with Anita," he explains.

"That's why she was a fucking dragon before?" Alice asks, looking from Lily to Remus. Remus nods.

"Come on!" Lily hisses. "Where the fuck is this elevator?" She punches the wall above the button pad, her frustration and urgency mixing together. Remus and Alice both gave her looks she ignores, too consumed in her escape. She has just started looking for a stairwell when a familiar deep voice breaks her focus.

"Excuse me?" Lily freezes, unable to move. She feels someone tapping her shoulder and tenses. _Fuck fuck fuck._ She starts to panic, staring at Remus with wide eyes. He gives her another one of his small smiles and nods. Lily takes a breath and spins around, working to keep her face blank as she looks up at the handsome face of James Potter. "You're the girl from downstairs, correct? Lily?"

She nods, unable to speak. He glances at Remus and Alice, both of whom turn and pretend like they aren't listening. He runs a hand through his hair as he looks back down at Lily. "I'm sorry about before," he says, looking sheepish. "It wasn't my intention to get you in trouble." He looks at Lily as though expecting a reply, but she is still only able to stare at him with panicked eyes and nod. He shifts on his feet, hand gripping his hair - a nervous gesture, Lily realizes - and speaks again. "It's just something I do. Tease the staff I mean. Guess it's a rather childish thing to do. Never gotten anyone in trouble in the past… I think…" He is muttering more to himself at this point. His dark brows are furrowed and he has a small crease on his forehead as his expression grows more and more guilty looking. Lily feels her heart go out to him.

"It's-" Her voice cracks due to her dry throat. She swallows and tries again. "It's alright. Don't worry about me sir."

He looks up when she speaks, brows rising in surprise. His lips tug up into a cynical smile as he drops his hand from his hair. "I've never seen someone look so panicked while standing next to a buffet table before."

Lily feels her cheeks flush. She'd been hoping he hadn't noticed that, but considering he had been looking right at her, she should've known better. "We only had a few minutes and I wanted to make sure Remus had enough time to eat." She gestures to Remus.

Remus looks back at the two of them, giving Lily a dirty look. "Just not enough time to swallow," he mumbles bitterly before turning to James. "Nice to see you again sir."

"Oh Remus, what did I say about calling me sir? That's my old man. Call me James."

"Sure… James," Remus says with a smile.

James smirks and turns to Alice. "I'm Alice." She steps forward and boldly offers her hand. She gives him her signature flirty grin, - Lily clenches her fists, a sudden flash of violence spiking through her, though she has no idea why. Alice is always flirting with attractive boys - which James readily returns, and shakes his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Alice. I feel like I've seen you before," James says, cocking his head to the side.

"I worked your father's Christmas party last year."

"Right!" James laughs. "You were the waitress who helped me and Marissa steal that bottle of Rémy Martin! Thanks for that," he winks at her. Lily finds herself vaguely wondering just what exactly happened between James, _Marissa_ , and that bottle of Rémy Martin. She is so lost in these grim imaginations that she jumps when James next speaks to her. "I hope you got something to eat as well," he says. It takes Lily a few seconds to realize he is referring to what Lily had last remarked.

Lily fidgets with her hands behind her back. "Wasn't really hungry," she mumbles even as she feels her stomach rumble in protest. James frowns again, opening his mouth to say something else, when the elevator finally arrives. Lily wants to kiss the metal doors as they open. "We really should be getting back to our posts. Have a good evening sir." Lily grabs both Remus and Alice and pulls them into the car with her, hitting the button for the lobby quickly.

The doors close on James's frown and Lily leans against the back of the elevator, exhaling as the cool glass touches her exposed neck. "Lily," Alice chastises. "What was that? So rude! The poor guy looked like he was being crushed by his guilt. Plus, why did you drag me along? I'm supposed to be serving."

"Well he should be," Lily pouts even as she feels her own guilt start to build. "He nearly got me fired, and all for a laugh."

"Lily, he really is a decent guy," Remus says, brushing his hands clean against his pants. "He gives really good tips and always goes out of his way to thank the staff. You know how rare that is among this lot."

"Not to mention the sap was practically drooling over you," Alice puts in, crossing her arms and leaning against the right wall.

"He was not!" Lily cries, cheeks burning brightly. _Was he?_

"I saw the whole thing!" Alice is exasperated. "After you made your mad dash from the buffet table, poor Remus here practically choking on his mini burger, the bloke walked around the entire party searching for you. Only, when you re-appeared, you were dashing off again. He hesitated for a whole minute before coming over to apologize to you. And you barely said a word!"

"Well excuse me if I wasn't in the mood to get mocked or yelled at again!" Lily defends.

"But he just wanted to apologize. And flirt with you."

Lily rolls her eyes. "You're delusional, Al."

"Bloke does have quite the record with the ladies," Remus puts in. "He almost always leaves with a girl on his arm."

Lily snorts inelegantly. "Thanks Remus. Way to make me feel good. Getting compared to the ditzes he brings home to bed."

Remus gives her a look that says it wasn't what he meant at all, but Alice cuts him off. "But now Lily's gone and made him all nervous. Did you see how many times he did that hair thing? Poor James. Lily's ruining his game. Won't be going home with anyone tonight."

"Lily's done nothing wrong!" Lily exclaims, frustrated with her friends. "Lily just wants to go home and take off her shoes and put on warm clothes and get paid!"

The elevator doors open and Lily stomps out, heels echoing against the tile floor. Some of her annoyance fades when she looks up and sees Anita glaring at her. Anita hands her the iPad without saying a word, and Lily heads back to her post. She hopes Alice has managed to get the elevator moving back upstairs before Anita has reached it.

The next forty-five minutes pass in a sort of numbness. Lily is too cold, hungry, and sore to care about what is going on around her. There is no one else to check in, though Anita refuses to let Lily leave her post. Lily lets herself get lost in her thoughts. She hums to herself, going over the lyrics in her head to a current favorite of hers, dissecting each of the words and finding their meaning. "You've got a fairly decent voice, Red."

Lily's head whips around from where she's been staring out the glass doors at the city life happening outside, and to where James Potter stands, looking amused. Once more, Lily can feel her cheeks growing hot, and her stomach fills with butterflies. _This insanity really needs to stop._ "What?" she asks, her mind all scrambled now. Has she been singing aloud?

"Your voice. It's rather nice," he cocks his head to the side, hazel eyes considering her as a crooked smile that makes her knees feel a little weak graces his full lips. "Consider yourself a 'dangerous woman'?"

A confused giggle bubbles up from her throat. "What?"

His smile grows as he takes a few steps closer to her. "That's what you were singing. _Something bout you, makes me feel like a dangerous woman_ ," he sings the line, his voice pitchy and cracking, but he doesn't seem to care.

"Oh," Lily says, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear shyly. "Yeah. Um, it's an Ariana Grande song."

"Hmmm," he takes another few steps closer to where she's standing. "So you don't consider yourself a 'dangerous woman' than?" His eyes are simultaneously light and dark, brown and green and gold, and Lily doesn't think she's ever seen prettier.

 _What the hell?_ This is when she knows she's gone insane. Alice must've hypnotized her and placed these thoughts in her head. There's no way Lily could be standing here, talking to some rich bloke's son, - who got her nearly fired earlier over a stupid joke, mind you - and thinking about how pretty his eyes were, true or not. Lily is here to do a job, not ogle Richie Rich. She is here to check-in guests, hand out gift bags as they leave, and get paid so she can pay off the student loans her sister Petunia certainly wouldn't pay off. The only solution had to be insanity. Or perhaps the hypothermia she's most likely suffering from is spreading to her brain. That must be it.

"I don't know," she replies, her voice soft, shy, uncertain. She decides she can't look at him. Looking at him is too distracting. Instead, she glances over to coat check, where Remus is regarding the two of them with a curious glance. He smirks when he catches her eye and she shoots him a look in return. She rolls her shoulder back and stands up straighter, putting her professional demeanor back on and glancing back at James. She figures she might be able to last a whole minute looking at him without getting distracted. "Is there something I can help you with sir?" she asks in her falsely sweet check-in girl voice.

Some of the sparkle in James's eyes dies, and he shakes his head. "Just going for a smoke," he says, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from inside his suit jacket. "A guy can only spend so much time with those pompous arses before he needs to take a breather."

Lily snorts despite herself, and James cocks an eyebrow. "Some breather you're taking," she says derisively, gesturing to the pack as he puts it away. "Great way to fill your lungs with clean air."

He chuckles, tucking the cigarette behind his ear. Lily thinks it's absolutely adorable. (She's also decided to just go along with this madness for the night. She's only got an hour and a half left anyway.) He puts his hands in his pockets. "Well, having a smoke was my escape plan. What should I do now?"

Lily tucks the iPad against her left hip, her right hand coming to rest there as well. "You could hide in the kitchens," she suggests. "I'm sure Alice wouldn't mind. Hell, she'd probably steal you more Rémy Martin."

James seems to consider this for a few seconds before regarding her with a wry smile. "Tempting, but the kitchens are not nearly far enough from the party. I think I'd rather hide down here with you."

Lily pauses as his words register. He wants to stay down here, with her, in the freezing lobby? She shrugs nonchalantly though inside she's throwing a party. He flashes her his crooked grin again. There's a silence and though it doesn't feel particularly heavy or awkward, Lily feels the need to fill it. She likes talking to him, hearing his responses and deep voice.

"Lily!" her name is snapped and Lily spins towards it. Anita is hurrying towards her holding a black trash bag. It's about the size of Lily. "Take this to the dumpster in the back, then start filling the gift bags. Now!" Anita all but throws the bag at Lily, who just barely manages to catch it. It weighs a ton and Lily's arms ache after holding it for a minute. Anita turns her attention to the dark haired boy frowning down at her and looks startled. "Mr. Potter. What are you doing down here?"

Lily has to bite her lip to keep from giggling as James cocks an eyebrow at the middle aged woman disdainfully. "Having a smoke," he says, his tone gruff and abrupt, and he pulls the cigarette out from behind his ear.

Anita glances from the cigarette to James to Lily. Her eyes narrow as they land on the redhead. "Is she bothering you? Lily, go do as you were told," Anita waves a dismissive hand in Lily's direction. With a resigned sigh, Lily squats down and wraps her arms around the black bag. She grunts under the weight, stumbling as she uses her back to push open the door. She can hear Anita apologizing to James as she steps into the cold night.

She's certain she has become an icicle by the time she makes it back to the lobby. Her arms are jellied and she's convinced she reeks of whatever was in the bag. _£150 pounds. £150. An hour left._

She's shivering violently from head to toe, singing quietly to herself to keep back her dejected tears. Neither Anita nor James are anywhere to be seen, so she ambles over to coat check searching for Remus.

She finds him behind the curtain, pulling out the boxes containing the film, chocolate, and black bags that Lily needs to assemble the gift bags. She wraps her arms around him from behind, turning to press her cold cheek against his warm sweater. "Jesus Lils!" Remus exclaims. He turns around, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. "Can't sneak up on me like that."

"Anita hates me," Lily whines, letting her head fall back.

"She's like that. Always picks one employee to torture at each event. Alice gets picked pretty often since she tends to talk back," Remus explains. He manages to rub some feeling back into her arms, but she's still freezing.

Lily allows herself one more moment of comfort before taking a step back. "Better take care of this. Don't wanna give Anita another reason to yell at me."

Remus helps her carry the boxes into a corner and she sets to work. It's tedious work, and Lily quickly falls into a rhythm. She counts down the minutes in her head until she's allowed to finally leave. A part of her wonders if the gift bags are even worth it. What could these people possibly want with film and chocolate? When she finishes her task, she drags the boxes back to her post by the door. _Thirty minutes._

The doors open and Lily's whole body shakes violently as the air hits her. _You'd think I'd be used to this by now._ Her teeth are chattering, and she tries to rub warmth back into her arms, but her hands are too cold to be of any use. She shoots a dirty look at the person who opened the door and is surprised to see it's James yet again. "You're still down here?" she asks, not considering how rude that sounded until it was out of her mouth.

James chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall next to her. He only has on his suit jacket and Lily wonders how he's not as cold as she is. "Don't be too enthusiastic to see me," he replies dryly.

Lily shifts on her feet. She can't seem to say anything right with this boy. "I didn't mean it like that," she says. "I'm just surprised. I thought Anita would've dragged you back upstairs already."

James nods, acknowledging this truth. "She did try," he concedes. "But I decided to do away with fresh air and have a smoke anyways." He peers down at her, eyes inquisitive. "Why do you let her treat you like that?"

She's not expecting this question. She jolts a little, and pauses. She looks up at him, considering, then answers. "Normally, I would have left. I don't make a habit of letting people treat me like dirt… but I need the money. Besides, it's one night."

He frowns at her words, but seems to accept them. Not like he can do otherwise. "You deserve better." He says it firmly, leaving no room for debate. And the way he looks at her sends shocks from top of her head to the tips of her toes.

He glances over by where Remus is sitting in a chair - Of course the coat check people get a chair, but the check-in girl? Nope. - and beckons him over.

He turns to Remus and the two start talking about football. Lily is still too tingly to be able to think about much else. _The way he looked at me..._ She finds it hard to believe he looked at _her_ that way, like she was something rare and special. She'd checked in everyone here, and saw some of the females who walked in. Lily is nothing compared to them.

The two boys get into a heated debate and Lily gets bored quickly. Sports have never held any interest for her. Her feet, which were feeling slightly better when she was moving around, are aching again, as well as her knees. She really needs to stretch more. She starts to do some pliés again to pass even more time. The party has to be winding down by now. She nearly chirps with delight that she'll be home, snug and warm soon enough.

The elevator doors ding as they open, and Alice appears holding another huge garbage bag. "I've got a delivery for you Lils!" she singsongs. Lily groans aloud.

"God! If I go outside again, I'm going to end up with frostbite! I probably already have frostbite." She shakes her head. Both Alice and Remus look so warm in their sweaters. She takes the black bag from Alice, and once again nearly tumbles over from its weight. "Why is she having me take out the trash?" she asks Alice. "Isn't this the busboy's job?"

Alice shrugs. "I was told to 'Give it to Lily. She can take it out, then hand out the gift bags.' She also wants you to stay for cleanup." Alice winces sympathetically as Lily's eyes widen. _NOOOOOOOOO!_

Her shoulders slump and she stomps her foot in frustration. She couldn't care less that she's acting like a three year old. Her shift was supposed to be over once all the bigwigs left. "Remind me why I'm here again," she begs Alice, no longer holding onto hope that she'll ever escape.

"To pay off your student loans," Alice steps forward and rubs Lily's arms soothingly.

"Why did I go to university?"

"So you could get a job at a publishing house."

"Screw it," Lily sighs, grunting as she picks up the bag. It smells even worse than the first. "I think I'll just live the rest of my days out in Petunia's basement."

She moves towards the door, lifting a foot to kick it open, but James pushes it for her. "Thanks," she gets out between her teeth. He puts a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. She's certain her face is turning red from the effort it's taking to keep the bag aloft, but she knows if she puts it down, she won't be able to pick it back up.

"Let me do that for you," James says, moving to take the bag from her, but Lily backs away as much as she can in her heels while holding a heavy bag of trash.

"I can't let you do that," she says. She can only imagine what Anita would do if she found out Lily had let the son of the man paying for the party do her job for her.

"That bag looks like it weighs more than you do," James tries to reason. "Let me help." Lily shakes her head furiously.

"Here, Lils," Remus steps forward and takes the bag from her when he realizes this could go on all night. He grunts as he lifts it and looks at Lily, impressed. He walks out into the night.

Lily practically sags in relief now that the weight is gone, but is shivering like crazy as another breeze raises the hair on her forearms. James notices and takes a step towards her. "Jesus! You're ice cold," he says as he lays a hand on her forearm. He slips out of his suit jacket quickly and wraps it around her shoulders. He's wearing a light blue button down and she can feel the heat radiating off of him as he leans in close to pull the jacket closed. "What have you been doing down here? Standing in an icebox?"

Lily revels in the warmth the jacket provides her, slipping her arms through the sleeves. Normally, she would have protested such an action, but she's far too cold to care. The thing is ginormous, falling to the tops of her thighs. The shoulders are huge and the sleeves cover her hands, but she pulls the jacket close and wraps her arms around her chest, shivering now at how warm she is. It smells like tobacco and musky cologne. She can feel Alice watching the exchange, but Lily ignores her, instead looking up at James. "Thank you," she says, feeling her cheeks heat up. "I've been freezing my arse off for the better part of four hours."

"You're welcome," he replies, his voice deep and warm and comforting.

"Where is Remus?" _God! The woman is everywhere._ The three of them turn to see Anita storming into the room, walkie in hand. "Why are you down here?" She barks at Alice. Alice glares back.

None of the three of them move to respond, but there's no need. Remus shows up a minute later, rubbing his hands together. "Where were you? I told you not to leave your post. Where were you?" Anita snaps.

Remus frowns as he responds. "I went to take out the trash," he explains. "The party isn't over yet, so I thought there would be no problem if I left my post for a minute or two."

"That wasn't your job. That's her job," Anita points to Lily, turning to her now. "What are you wearing? Take that off. And stop badgering the guests. And I need you to stay-"

Lily's in the middle of slipping off James's jacket with much regret when James cuts off Anita. He places a hand on Lily's forearm again to stop her actions, pulling the jacket back over her shoulders and wrapping her up in it once more. "First off, there's no need to be so rude. A 'please' and 'thank you' never hurt anyone," he says as he turns back to Anita. "Secondly, Lily's not badgering me. If anything, I'm badgering her. And thirdly, Lily has been standing here for four hours, next to a door that opens and closes constantly. It's forty-two degrees out and she's wearing short sleeves. She should be allowed to wear a jacket if she wants to. Just look at her cheeks! They're bright red, she's so cold." Anita's sputtering as she stares up at James. She's speechless. Remus and Alice both look amused and Lily has never wanted to hug someone more.

James sneaks a peak at Lily out of the corner of his eye, and she thinks she sees a corner of his mouth rise in amusement as he continues. "It was such a lovely event, I would hate to have to tell my father we should use a different party planner next time," James says loftily. Anita's jaw drops.

There's silence as Anita struggles to find her words. Apparently unable to do that, she turns on her heel and heads back to the elevator bank. When the sound of the doors closing reaches their ears, the four of them explode.

"Holy shit!"

"That was the greatest thing I've ever seen!"

"I can't believe you said all those things…"

"What a self righteous bitch."

They're all speaking at once, looking at one another with similar looks of amazement, except for James who's just smirking. "She had it coming," he shrugs.

"James Potter, I could kiss you!" Alice exclaims. "Anytime you need booze stolen, just ask and I will deliver."

"That was… wow," Lily can't even find the words to being to describe how she feels right now. She can only stare at James with wide eyes.

"Well, she was being unnecessarily harsh to you," James replies, stepping close to Lily and pulling the jacket tighter. "My father always taught me that it's one thing to treat your employees as employees. It's another thing to treat them as slaves. Gratitude goes a long way." He's rubbing his hands lightly over her arms so casually, almost as if he doesn't even realize he's doing it, and Lily melts a little.

He glances at his watch and sighs. "I have to go back up," he looks disappointed as he glances at Lily. She's almost certain it's reflected in her own eyes. He slowly stops rubbing her arms and drops his arms back to his side. Lily feels her face heat up, and ducks her head, pulling the jacket even closer. He says goodbye to Lily and Remus and follows Alice back upstairs.

The rest of the night passes pretty quickly. Lily hands out gift bags to the guests, and does her part with clean up. At the end of the night, Anita hands Lily a paycheck without saying a word. It's when she heads back downstairs to grab her things and leave that she realizes she's still wearing James's jacket. She doesn't know what to do. She assumes he's left, but she knows she can't keep his jacket. Much as she wants to, it's Armani, and she's certain he'll want it back. "What do I do with this?" she asks Remus, shaking out the sleeves so they cover her hands again."Give it to Anita?"

Remus shrugs as he pulls on his own jacket. "Or you could just return it to him yourself." He nods behind her to where James is standing outside the building, smoking another cigarette. "I'll wait for you," he says with a smirk as she moves towards the dark haired boy.

Lily walks outside, approaching James from behind. "Hi," she says softly. He turns at her voice and smiles his crooked smile.

"Hey." One hand is in his pocket, the other holding his cigarette. He's only in his suit pants and the sleeves of his button up are rolled to the elbow. He's unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt. "You must be glad to be finally getting out of here."

Lily chuckles. "You have no idea," she says. She points to her feet. "I haven't been able to feel my toes since I got here."

"I'll never understand birds and their shoes," he shakes his head, taking another drag.

Lily pushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Anyways, I just wanted to return this." She slips her arms out of the jacket and passes it to him. He stares at it for a moment, before taking it from her. He looks back up, and though it's dark out, Lily can tell his eyes are intense. "Thank you… for the jacket and for defending me."

"Anytime," he says it casually, but it weighs heavily on Lily. She sucks in a breath, wrapping her arms around herself.

Neither of them seem to want to move. They both stand there in the cool night looking at one another. Lily breaks the silence. "Well, it was nice to meet you, James Potter," she says. She holds out a hand for him to shake.

He looks at the hand then back at her. He drops his cigarette and steps on it to stub it out, taking a step towards her and enveloping her hand in his. His palms are warm, callused, and huge, but Lily feels like her hand fits perfectly within it. "It was nice to meet you too, Lily…?"

"Evans."

"Lily Evans." She likes the way he says her name, like it's a musical lyric. Their hands stay together for longer than normal, before Lily pulls away.

"Well… goodbye then." She turns to walk back into the building, but James catches her hand again.

"Wait," he doesn't speak until he's right in front of her, making her tip her head back to look at his face. "I want to see you again." Lily feels her heart thumping in her chest. "Can I get your number?"

Lily feels her lips pull into a wide smile. "Sure," she pulls her hand from his gently, backing slowly towards the door. "Anita has all my information. Feel free to ask her. Goodnight, Mr. Potter."

James groans, chuckling despite himself, as Lily opens the door and walks back inside. Perhaps the night would end up being worth numb feet and frozen limbs. Sneaking a glance over her shoulder to where James Potter still stands, smiling crookedly at her, she knows it will be.


End file.
